The Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection is one of the best, if not THE best, compilation package in videogame history. For most gamers, this bundle will be a double dip of sorts but newcomers couldn’t really ask for anything better. Oh yeah, and it only costs $50.

Two Discs and an Art Book

All playable through Playstation 3, this 2-disc compilation contains a total of 8 complete games, 2 digital graphic novels, and one included art book. Metal Gear Solid 4 is on one disc while the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and digital graphic novels are on the other. Here is a list of what is included:

Bundled with this Legacy Collection is an exclusive artbook that contains images of concept designs, posters, box art and other goodies released throughout Japan, North America and Europe over the extensive history of Metal Gear. This book wasn’t necessary but given the fact that it is included in this $50 bundle puts even more value into this PS3 exclusive. It was also created with high quality as the pages are composed of a high gloss paper and even the cover is embossed. And this Legacy Collection is only available on PS3 thanks to the large storage capacity of a blu-ray disc. Metal Gear Solid 4 alone would require somewhere around 7 discs on 360 which just isn’t feasible. Will this compilation ever be released on the Xbox One or PS4? Only time will tell.

All this equals that

As great as this compilation is there are a couple complaints. First, Metal Gear Solid and the MGS VR Missions are only accessed by downloading them from the Playstation Store via an included voucher; they are not playable off the disc. This is not a huge deal breaker but it would have been nice to have that content on the disc instead of taking up hard drive space. However, I might be a little more susceptible to complaining about this as I am still rocking the limited edition Metal Gear Solid 4 80gb PS3 as I constantly battle for hard drive space. Also, there is one code which will queue up both MGS1 and the VR Missions. So if you already purchased MGS1 via the PSN, you will have a double dip situation on your hands.

The digital graphic novels are also sneakily tucked away under the Videos section of the XMB. These digital graphic novels are basically movies; you hit the play button and just watch. In comparison, the Metal Gear Digital Graphic novel that was released on PSP was a visual and interactive experience as users could pan and zoom panels to find and unlock additional content. While these moving comic books are created with high presentation values, it loses a little something from the superior PSP version. However, American gamers never received Digital Graphic Novel 2 (outside of the actual physical comic books) so the new content is welcomed. Digital Graphic Novel 1 focuses on MGS1/Shadow Moses while this unreleased sequel features the events of MGS2. These videos are fully voiced by the voice actors from the game, minus a substitution here and there, and feature the scribbley-stylized art style of Ashley Wood. If you wanted to learn the story of MGS1 and MGS2 without actually playing the game, this is the way to go. These motion comics should also stand out with fans as they provide a slightly new spin on the events of MGS1 and MGS2.

My other issue I have with this Legacy Collection is the absence of other Metal Gear titles. Granted, all the titles included are the games that Mr. Kojima directly developed but it just seems like a missed opportunity to release the ultimate Metal Gear package with every Metal Gear game. For example, Metal Gear Solid for Gameboy Color was one of the best games on the system, Metal Gear Portable Ops and Portable Ops Plus were a solid precursors to the stellar Peace Walker, the Metal Gear Ac!d games were jarringly different gameplay experiences, and even the nonsensical Snake’s Revenge on NES had its charm. While it is understandable why these games were not included, I can’t help but wonder why at least the Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 was not a part of the HD re-release; it is strange because even the artbook displays this limited release documentary. In fact, the one disc is literally just the HD Collection with the Graphic Novels embedded in the video channel while the other disc is just MGS4. There was no re-coding or even a new main menu screen, which is why MGS1 and the VR Missions were probably not burned onto the disc; the disc would have then required the design and programming of a new main menu screen at least. Either way, there is still an astronomical amount of quality content found in this Legacy Collection and these are minor complaints when looking at the grand scheme of the compilation. Again, it has to be one of the best gaming bundles ever released in terms of quality content and price. It should also be noted that there is no mention of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance anywhere in this compilation, not even an embedded gameplay trailer.

Even if you already own the Metal Gear HD Collection and MGS4, there is still enough in this package to make it worthwhile to re-buy these games again especially considering the discounted price point; you could even trade in your HD Collection and put the credit towards the Legacy Collection. It is also important to point out that save files from the MGS HD Collection and MGS4 will work with this Legacy Collection. And the Transfarring feature is still active with the Vita.

For a better understanding of what is included in this Collection, check out the video below.

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